Sensex ends at new peak of 9648

New Delhi: The markets ended higher amid buying across the board. It was an all-time closing high for the Sensex and Nifty.

The Sensex closed above 9600 and Nifty above 2900. Gujarat Ambuja Cements, Satyam, HPCL, HDFC Bank, BPCL, ITC, NTPC and Dr Reddy’s Labs were the biggest index gainers.

The Sensex closed up 108.71 points or 1.14 per cent at 9648.08. It touched an all-time high of 9664.94.

The Nifty closed up 21.05 points or 0.73 per cent at 2904.40. It touched an all-time high of 2909.35.

The CNX Midcap Index closed up 30.30 points or 0.74 per cent at 4147. It touched an all-time high of 4152.60.

The BSE Small Cap Index closed up 26.13 points or 0.43 per cent at 6170.56 and the BSE Midcap Index closed up 18.55 points or 0.41 per cent at 4581.36.

Gujarat Ambuja Cements, Satyam, HPCl, HDFC Bank, BPCL, ITC, NTPC and Dr Reddy’s Labs were the biggest index gainers.

The total market turnover today was at Rs 32,527.55 crore. The BSE Cash turnover was at Rs 4,289.88 crore and the NSE cash turnover was at Rs 7,101 crore. The NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 21,136.67 crore.

Analysts believe that the Sensex is certain to touch 10,000 before the Budget, if macro economic factors remain positive.

The BSE Bankex outperformed the other indices. It closed up 1.65 per cent at 5275.82 amid gains in Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank, Allahabad Bank, HDFC Bank, Oriental Bank, IOB, Canara Bank, UTI Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI.

A rally was also seen in technology stocks. Stocks like Mphasis BFL, Satyam, Hexaware Tech, HCL Info, HCL Tech, Wipro, Infosys and TCS ended higher. The BSE IT Index closed up 1.42 per cent at 3826.43.

Consumer durables stocks like Titan Industries, Mirc Electronic, BPL, Samtel Color and Videocon International also flared up. The BSE Consumer Durables Index closed up 1.27 per cent at 3351.37.

Auto stocks including TVS Motor, MICO, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Apollo Tyres, Asahi India, Bharat Forge, M&M, Amtek Auto and MRF also moved up. The BSE Auto Index closed up 1.08 per cent at 4331.

FMCG stocks like ITC, P&G, Colgate and Tata Tea also gained. The BSE FMCG Index closed up 1 per cent at 1675.

The BSE Capital Goods Index closed up 0.72 per cent at 5938.57 due to buying in KEC International, Alfa Laval, BHEL, Larsen, ABB, Gammon India, Alstom Projects, and BEML.

Pharma stocks including Orchid Chemical, GSK Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs, Lupin, Glenmark, Apollo Hospital, Cipla, Ipca Labs, and Divi's Labs also surged. The BSE healthcare Index closed up 0.69 per cent at 3194.23.

Metal stocks like Sterlite Industries, Sesa Goa, Jindal Stainless, Hindustan Zinc, Hindalco and Nalco also ended in the green. The BSE Metal Index closed up 0.49 per cent at 6653.76.

Oil stocks like HPCL, BPCL, Gail, Kochi Refineries, Reliance, Petronet LNG and MRPL also firmed up. The BSE Oil & Gas Index closed up 0.49 per cent at 4550.65.

Several cement, media and tyre stocks also gained. However, some fertilizer, paper, sugar and textile stocks lost ground.